Improvement in harvesters



@eine giedre atmt @ffice IMPRVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

"Gilt Segnale reirme tu it tigen @Vaters ,z'ztmt mit milking pnt t fige Sinn.

TO ALL WHOM Il MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JAMES PINE, of the city of Troy, county of Rensselaer, and State off New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mowing and Reaping Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

invention relates to the manner ofspporting the gearing and `cutting apparatus of a mowing and reaping machine; the manner of swinging around the cutting apparatus and supporting it when the machine is to be moved from place to place;V connecting the driving power to the knife-rod in such away that the cutting apparatus can be turned backward, and supporting it so as to be so transported Without detaehing the knife-rod from the connecting-rod or'pitanan; the improved manner of attaching the team to facilitate and lessen the draught of the machine; the"me thod of adapting the cutting apparatus 1.o uneven ground, and the improved manner of constructing the. guard fingers, sofas.' to avoid clogging, and a cheapand 'efectnal way of plating the guard fingers, affording at the same time a goed cutting edge anda means of escape for fibres of grass and othenniatter. j i

Similar letters of reference referto similar parts in the diifercntgures.

Figure lpis al top view of the machine, with the wheels broken off at A, and the main driving or gear-wheel broken on" at B.

Figure 2 is a top View of the axle and sleeve inverted, with a cross-section of the hubs of both drivingwhecls, the maingear-wheel, and the ratchets. Y

Figure 8 is an end view-of the machine taken on the line a a, iig. l, and looking in the direction of the arrow.

Figure-4 longitudinal section, showing the main shoe, the finger-bar, the finger-oar extension piece, the knife-bar, the mai-n knife-holder, and the bolt which holds the whole in their proper position, taken on the line I) b, fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the outer or dividing shoe, andis a proper representation of the finger on an enlarged scale, the fingers being made on the same plan as the-shoe and"d'iii`ering from it only in size.

Figure 6 is a cross-section of the dividing shoe on the lin'e e c, iig. 5..

'Figure'i is an end View, showing the connecting piece between the pitinan and l nifc-bar and a portion of the pitman, a portion of the connecting piece turned back in a position to remove the pitman.

Figure 8 is a top view, 'showing the connecting piece with the knife-bar and `pitman broken ofi'.

Figure 9 is a crosssection of the' axle anlhsleeve, together with the cap and screws which fasten them together, taken on the line d d, fig. 1. Y

Figure 10 is a longitudinal section of the finger-bar, the finger-bar extension pieee,.main shoe, dividing shoe, and iinger,`with the bolts which hold them .together-.1 i

To enable others skilled in I(he art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to Vdescribe the saine with reference to the drawings.

Two main driving and supporting whcels,'C and C', are mounted upon a connnon axie, D, and turn freely thereon. The inner hub I" of the inain 'driving-wheel C is furnished with ratchet-teeth. The main gear-wheel E is keyed fast to the main axle D, close to the hub of the main driving-wheel C'. The sleeve G, which supports the pole, with parts 'of the gearing, to he hereafter described, is -mailc open upon the under side, and can he readily placed astride the axle, and is confined thereon by means of the caps I I', which, being secured t0 their places by means of the screws J J', forni ordinary journal boxes around the :wie D, allowing the axle D to turn freely therein. By `this arrangement the axle can be removed without displacing the gearing. The pole II, by which the machinerie drawn, is firmly bolted in the socket K, cast upon the sleeve G, cast upon the sleeve piece, and extending rearwards andcurving downwards is the projecting arm piece L. M is a short shaft or stud, which is fastened to the rear end of the projecting arm piece L, and is fixed in a position parallel with themain axle D. The bevel-,wheel N and spur-pinion O are cast together, or are otherwise rigidly connected, and turn freely on the shaft or stud M, the sp1.1rpinionl O working in the inain gear-*wheel E. Upon the shaft or stud M is pivoted or hinged therear endoftho swingingdar P.l This swinging-har, at its roar end, is formed withwtwo prongs or cars, which are placed astrido the curved arm piece L, ns' shown atff, iig. l. The shaft M mesi 2 isl-placcd through holes in reach of the prongs or ears of ths swing-bar P and the end of the curved arm piece L, the gears N and O havinglbeen previously slipped on, and is firmly held to its place by means'of a nut, as shown at g, iigs. 2 and 3. The swinging-bar P, being pivotcd at the rear cud of the curved arm piece L, extends. forward under the axle, and its forward end is free to vibrate in a circlenp'and down around the shaft M as a centre. This swinging-bar is prevented from vibrating or swinging laterally by passing between two arms or prongs, Q and Q', cast upon and extending downwards from the sleeve, which arms or prongs serve as guides to the vswinging-bar P. Upon each end of this swinging-bar is cast a projection, one of which is shown at R, iig. l, which are furnished with suitable boxes lor'bearing-s, in which the cranlcsha't S turns. This crank-shaft S is driven by the-bcvel-gear N, working into the bevel-pinion T. The lower end of the crank-shaft is furnished with a-balancc-whecl with a wrist-pin, and drives the knife in the ordinary manuel'. On lthe inner or grass side of the swinging bar P, and near the lower orffront end thereof, is attached the finger-bar connecting piece U, by means of the hinge V; and near the upper end ofthe Swinging-bar P is hinged the diagonal brace-bar W, which is hinged at its'lower end to the finger-bar connecting piece U. This diagonal braced-bar W supportsI the fingerbar from buck thrust. To the swinging-bar P is attached, in front of the axle D, the lever X, having its fnlcrum at i.. The uses of this lever will be more fully explained hereafter. Thus it will be seen that the swingingbar P serves to barry the crank-shaft and its attachments, the ond of the finger-bar extension piece U, and the fulcrum for the lever X. The hingeV is fastened rigidly to the cud of the finger-bar extension piece U, and is connected to the swinging-bar P by means of au intermediate coupling piece Y. This coupling piece Y is 'so attached to the swinging-bar' P by the bolt z' as to allowr the finger-bar extension piece, and consequently the iinger-bar, to turn upon its longitudinalraxis, or, in other Words, to rock or roll iu the line of its lengthfthe bolt z' being the centre of motion. The pitman :a is connected to ,thebalance-wheel 2 by a universal-joint connect-ion, and to the knife-bar connecting piece by a simple hook. This universal-joint connection of the pitmau `-with the crank-pin is rendered necessary by the varying positions of the swinging-bar P, and by means of its jointed connections, the varying positions uf the inger-barand cutting apparatusnvith reference to a horizontal plane. The finger-bar, and its connection with the machine by means of the ingerbar extension piece, is shown in the longitudinal sect-ion, g. 10. 3 is the finger-bar, extending from the dividing or outer shoe past the main shoe 4, and then turns up and is clamped snugly to the iuger-barextnsion piece U, by means of the link 5. This link is a rectangular lpiece of metal made to't over the end ofthe finger-bar 43 and the extension piece U. The end of the finger-bar being slightly tapered, the link can be slid backward or forward, and thus clamping or unclamping the finger-bar and the finger-bar extension piece at the will of the operator. m is the knife-rod to which the cutters are attached. l is one'of the'pieces fastened to the uger-bar to keep the knife-rod in place.

The hub of the main driving-wheel C being made with ratchet-teeth, when the machine is drawn forward, com-- municates motion to the main gear-wheel F by means of the pawl, which is fastened to the main genr-wheelvand is held in gear with the ratchet by the spring o. The main gearwheel being fast to the main axle, communieates motion to it, and also gives motion to the spur-piuion O and the bevclgear The bevel-gear N imparts motion to the beviel-pinion-T, and through it to the crank-shaft S, and thereby tothe knife. The driving-wheel C is furnished with a pawl, n., and spring, o,v which, in a similar manner, gives motion to the ratchet F.' This ratchet-is keyed fast to the axle D, so that when the machine is drawn forward the driving-wheel C gives motion' to the axle, and through itto the other parts of the gearing of themachiue. It is plain that when the machine is backed the pawls will not' take into the ratchets, and motion will be given to th driving-wheels only. Upon the underside of the pole H, and a suitable distance in advance of the cuttingapparatus, is fastened the forked hanger p. Upon the lower end of this hanger is pivoted the sector g, at its centror in a vertical position, with its are towards the Cutting apparatus. The arc ofthe sector is furnished with ascorc, which carries a lexible oord or chain.v One end of this cord or chain is fastened to the front upper end of thearo, and the other end is attached to the finger-har extension piece by means of the metallic connection rf The upper radius of the sector is perforated by a row of ho/l/s, from near the centre to the are, and the double-trees towhich .the team is attached are fastened in either/ Athese holes, as the circumstances of the case require. The object of this inode of attachment is to convey] portion of the power required to draw the machine direct to the finger-bar, and thereby lift th'e bar suiiicier/.ly from the ground to relieve'itvof friction. and also te' obtain a lower line of draught than is ordinarily attrv ned in mowing machines. By this arrangement the power required tovdraw the machine can be divided between the pole and the finger-bar and its connections, and graduated between the two to suit the circumstances of the case. It is plain that the nearer the centre of the sector the double-trees are attached the greater is thc draught expended ou 4the pole andthe lesson the finger-bar extension piece and vice corsa. By the use of the sector as here arranged, a certain portion of the draught will always bc upon the finger-bar and tend to raise it, both upon level ground and when the cutters are .passing over knolls orelevations, as the point of attachment of the cord or chain to the sector is always above the plane of the iinger-bar extension piece, and the lino of its draught mast be always i.1 an upward direction. In machines of this class one of thel objections, in practice, has beonfound to be in crossing furrows, wh often occurs, running in a direction perpendicular to tho path of the machine. When the finger-bar and enti. apparatus drop down into one of those depressions or furrows the points of the iingers have a tendency to pierce the soil upon the 11p-hill side of the furrow, and cause a sudden strain, both upon the team and machine, in getting out 6E the furrow. It is to overcome this-objection that the lever X,'before alluded to, is used. Upon the sleeve G, and near the top of the inner guide piece Q, is cast au ear. To this ear is hung loosely the perforated bar c. In either of the holes in this perforated bar the upper end of "the lever X is fastened by a screw-bolt. The lower end of the lever X is pivoted to the connecting piece V, and near its centre is pirated to the lswinging-bar P at L, with a screw, 7L., fo" a fulcrum. It is plain that `ivhenthe inger-har and cutting apparatus encounter one of these' furrows they will dropdown vertically, andas soon as this vertical motion takes place, the lever X, being dropped 3 oren down at its forward end, together witlrthe finger-bar, and being fastened at its up must turn upon its fulcrum i, and thereby depress the back edge of the linger-bar, and raise proportionately the points of the fingers, and thus conse the linger-bar and its extension piece :o turn upon its longitudinal axis. 'lhis feature is self-acting, andthe desired result is accomplished without the aid ofthe operator of the machine. A seat for the driver, and also a lever arrange-nient by which the driver can elevate the Hager-bar and cutting apparatus at his will. are used upon the machine. I have not deemed it necessary to show them upon the drawings, as it is accomplished in the saine manner as upon luy-previously patented machines. When it is desired to move the machine from field to field, the pawls n and 1L are thrown out of connection with their corresponding ra-tohets by means of the springs o and o. The link 5 is slipped along the extension piece to the position as shown in red ink, iig. l, and thereby'the finger-bar and the extension piece are disconnected. The finger-bar and cutters, together with their connection, having been previously raised up by the driver, the fingenbar and cutting apparatus will turn freely backward upon the pin 10f1zr3rs.v l and 4 5 and by means of the swivelled connection of the finger-bar extension piece with the swinging-bin P, upon the `bolt z', the said bar and cutting apparatus are moved backand in a plane inclined'upward to the lorizon, and are supported above the axle by means of the supporting` piece Zi', the hole al, in the finger-bar. fitting over the end of the piece b. The oo nnectingr piece between the pitnian e and the knife-rod m is so constructed to allow the linge-bar and cutting apparatus to be turned backward, and also returned to its place forwork without disconnecting the pitman from the knife-rod. This connecting piece, figs. 7 and S, is made ofa separate piece of metal, w. A vertical hole, 9, passes through this vertiealpiece, through which passes the pin which is attached tothe knife-rod m., and this pin serves to convey motion frrn the connecting piece tu to the knifeaod, andis sulicientlyloose to turn in said hole. A horizontal hole, 8, also passes through the connecting piece, which receives the endot the pitinan. A latch, x, provided with a spring, y, turns freely upon the bolt 6 as a centre. The object of this latch is to hold the end of the pitman in its place, it being confined there by the action of the spring y. When it is required to remove the knife, the latch is raised up, as shown at iig. 7, and the end of the pitman can be readily slipped out, the upper end being provided, as before stated, with a universal joint. .The connecting piece 'w is held down by means of the thin pieeera, which projects-over theconneoting piece w, and is long enough to cover it during the whole length of thekvibration of the knife. By this means this end of the knife-rod and. pitman is held down and guided. The dividing shoellc, as shown at figs. 1, 5, and 6, is a proper representation of the shoe as wel] as the guard-fingers, `the only difference being in point of size. The shoe and guardngers are made in two parte, The lower partvcA is made of malleable iron. llhe upper part e* may be iliade of other metal. The tivo are united together at c near the point. The upper portion c ofthe guard-finger extends back from its point of connection with c, affording a support for the material to be severed sufficiently above the lower portion to allow the free passage'of the cutter between the upper and lower portion of the finger, and until it reaches a point immediately over the front edge of the knife-rod, is of a width corresponding with width of lower portion. At thispoiut the upper portion is reduced in size, and te a round form, or nearly so, as shown at c', in fig. 10, and bends suddenly upwards, and is elevated above the cutter-bar, and extending upwardsand backwards, and near t-he rear of the fingeuhar bows down, as shown at g. 5, and is fastened to the ngenbar by the bolt d, which bolt also serves to hold the guard-finger to the ingenbar. The lower portion ofthe finger is east with a depression or is hollowed out, from just in front of the cutter to near the front edge ofthe finger-l beam. This is plainly shown A1t-figs. 5 and 6. At e, ig.'5, a small knob or projection is cast, which extends from the lowest part of the hollow` of the guard-finger upward, and ,its front edge is just in rear of thefront edge of the knife-rod. Within the depression of the lower part of the guardanger, and immediately in front of the-knob el, is fitted a steel plate, which completely' faces that portion of the guard-inger against which the cutter works. This steel facing may be easily formed under swedges andl be made to fit to its place. The edge of this steel plate isthus presented as a ledger plate forthe cutters to cut against. The plate is 'heldin place at the forward end between the upper andlower portions of the guard-finger, and at the back end by the knob e, the knob c having been bentover forwards, as shown in fig. 5, which can be readily done with a hammer. The portion of the guardbehind the knob a, and nearly up to the finger-bar, is left hollowed out for tl escape of the libres o f grass or other foreign material which may be drawn under the knife Having thus fully described the 11a-ture and object of my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l The use of an open sleeve, upon which 'is suspended the gearing to drive the knife, andthe attachment toho'ld the cutting apparatus when said sleeve is furnished with journal boxes, substantially as and for the purposes set forth'.

l also claim the use of the swinging-arm P, when hinged at its rear end to the projecting portion L of the sleeve, and when said arin supportsthe gearing and cutting apparatus, substantially as described.

I also claim the use ofthe downward projecting arms or guides QQ', and the rearward projecting arm piece L, in combination with the open sleeve, substantially as described and Vfor the purposes set forth.

I also claim .the combination of the hingeV, the coupling piece Y, and the lever X, substantially es and for the purposes set forth. v

I also claim the use of a graduated sector-shaped draught-bar, when both the cord or chain 'and doubletree or team are united to it above its pivoted point, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JAMES PINE.

per end to the perforated bar,

ie free Witnesses:

Moses Wannes,

A. Pseunxrnn. 

